Kosovo's lawyer and politician Azem Vllasi, senior government and party functionary in the former Yugoslavia, was a keynote speaker in Sarajevo at a session of the Association of Independent Intellectuals “Circle 99” on the topic "Serbia between Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina".

Vllasi pointed out that Serbia is a factor of peace and positive relations in the region and the Kosovo authorities wish to have a good relationship with Serbia and to have reciprocity between the two states.

“It is up to the conduct of the authorities in Serbia how much will Bosnia and Herzegovina be a functioning state,” he said.

Vllasi said that Serbia has changed inside, but when it comes to its neighbors, some recurrences of Milosevic’s regime are still alive. In relation to Bosnia and Herzegovina they are discreet, while in the case of Kosovo they are more straightforward.

Vllasi described the politics of Boris Tadic, Serbia's current president, as "politics of getting nowhere".

Vllasi also said that during its struggle for independence, Kosovo did not have, because of political pressures, support of Serb intellectuals, unlike Sarajevo where members of other nations supported Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Speaking of absurdity of the Serbian policy towards Kosovo, Vllasi said that it behaves differently even when it comes to Serbs in Kosovo.

“So, when we speak about northern Kosovo, where there is a majority Serb population, they are manipulated and then we have revolts, the barricades ...

However, Kosovo, even though a young country, has the power to defend its borders,” Said Vllasi.

He stressed that Serbia has areas where Albanians are the majority population, but the Government of Kosovo does not call on them to stir riots and show resistance to the Serbian Government.

Since the declaration of independence, Kosovo has been recognized by 84 countries.

Azem Vllasi was born on December 23, 1948 in Kosovska Kamenica.He is a lawyer and member of the Forum 2015 and president of the NGO “Kosovo Association for Inter-ethnic Cooperation”, which was formed in May 2001.

He is the best known political prisoner (1989/90) as a victim of the enraged and violent regime of Slobodan Milosevic. He published a book "Masters of Darkness" as well as many political analysis and studies in professional journals. He is a permanent participant of the forum "European Movement for Peace, Cooperation and Development."